"We have to find a way to win some games on the road. That's the next step for this program," Boyle said. "When you travel, it's about staying focused on what you're doing, it's about having the toughness and a togetherness as a team to do what you have to do to win."

Pac-12 teams are 33-11 at home in conference play. USC has lost to a bad Arizona State team, as well as Arizona and rival UCLA, on its home court by an average of 13 points.

Cal already has key road wins at Oregon and Washington. Oregon is 3-1 on the road in Pac-12 play. CU was swept at Cal and Stanford on its first conference road swing.

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"There's obviously a lot of teams that are close together, and I think this week will shake it out further," Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. "To me, until someone beats Cal at home, they are the team to beat. ... They're the most consistent team in our conference."

Cal is 13-0 at home. The Bears host rival Stanford on Sunday.

Dedmon walking (tall)

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Dewayne Dedmon is starting to play as big as his 7-foot, 255-pound measurable's. The USC sophomore scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds during a loss at Oregon last week.

Not bad for a kid who didn't play basketball growing up due to his family's religious background.

"It would kind of be like me jumping into a helicopter and saying, 'Let me take this thing up for a ride. There shouldn't be any problem,' " USC head coach Kevin O'Neill said of Dedmon playing in a major Division I conference after not playing AAU or high school basketball.

Sports Illustrated did a story on Dedmon's unique path to USC in the magazine's college basketball preview edition in November. O'Neill felt the hype was premature, but the Trojans' big man on campus is going to continue to garner attention, likely even from NBA scouts, as his game continues to develop.

"He's getting much better," O'Neill said. "He wants to be better and because of that he's getting better. Over the next couple years, he's going to be a really good player."

Duck domination

Oregon, which has surged to the top of the standings with four consecutive wins, will host the "Civil War" rival against Oregon State on Sunday.

The Ducks (15-5) have won 17 of the last 18 meetings in Eugene, where fans are still exhaling after Chip Kelly's decision to stay at Oregon instead of take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coaching job.

The Beavers (13-7) lead the conference in scoring offense (82.7 ppg) and field-goal percentage (.485).

"Their athleticism is as good or maybe better than anyone in the league," Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. "There are a lot of tough matchups on their team with their size and their athleticism. They really present a challenge for our team."

RPI update

CU remains third among its conference peers in the NCAA's official RPI rankings at 62. Cal (35) is the only team Pac-12 team in the top 40 while Oregon (61) is just ahead of the Buffs.

Arizona (72), Stanford (80) and Washington (89) are in the top 100. The computers are not very kind to Washington State (127), Oregon State (138), UCLA (142), USC (192), Arizona State (226) and Utah (254).

For the eighth consecutive week there are no Pac-12 teams ranked in the Associated Press or ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls.

A 'Fat' honor

Arizona State will honor former Denver Nuggets star Lafayette "Fat" Lever by hanging his No. 12 from the rafters at Wells Fargo Arena next to the numbers worn by Joe Caldwell, Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins.

The ceremony will take place Thursday when ASU hosts Washington.

"He had a tremendous impact and continues to be a great ambassador for our university," ASU head coach Herb Sendek said of Lever, who returned to the school and completed his degree in 1996 after a distinguished NBA career. "The teams that Fat was a member of are arguably the greatest teams in Arizona State history."

Lever led the Sun Devils to an upset of No. 1 and unbeaten Oregon State in Corvallis on March 7, 1981, the final day of the regular season.

Notable

Washington State guard Faisal Aden is the Pac-12 player of the week after averaging 28.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in wins over Cal and Stanford. ... CU leads the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.392), and Buffs sophomore forward Andre Roberson (11.1 rpg) still leads the conference in rebounding by three boards ahead of Washington's Aziz N'Diaye (8.1 rpg). ... Over the last 12 games, Oregon State guards Jared Cunningham and Ahmad Starks have averaged a combined 31.1 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 steals.

Quotable

"I tell you, the respect our program has for what (Boyle's) doing at Colorado is immense," said Miller, whose Arizona team lost 64-63 in Boulder last Saturday. "They have a very good home-court (advantage) and it seems to me they have a passion and an energy."

MacIntyre feels Colorado is capable of making run at bowl gameCU BUFFS FALL CAMPWhen: 29 practices beginning Wednesday morning 8:30-11 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday practices are open to the media and public next week. Full Story

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